Dan Mountain – Secure Telehealth

Greetings From Las Vegas – Where Longevity is today’s buzz word

By Dan Mountain | October 9, 2023

October 9, 2023|Health Care, Healthspan, Longevity

Even though I was getting up at 4 AM eastern to fly to Las Vegas this morning, my wife and I settled in to our favorite pasttime of falling asleep on the couch last night watching a show together. Last night the show was “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones” on Netflix. This topic is becoming all the rage recently and I am consuming quite a lot of material related to the topic. In addition to Dan Buettner’s book and subsequent Netflix show mentioned above, another fantastic read on the topic recently is “Outlive” by Peter Atttia M.D. Both are very informative, based on sound scientific data, and presented in a way that is enjoyable and easy to comprehend by a non-scientist like myself.

At the HLTH conference at the Las Vegas Convention Center, it is a popular topic. Many of the latest technologies entering the Health Care space in recent times involve early detection of cancers and other health problems and Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring devices so that medical professionals can keep tabs on the patients that need care without them making unnecessary trips into the hospital or Doctor’s office.

The sad truth is Americans are unhealthier than ever, People like to throw blame around and point out our diet, portions, lack of activity, poor mental health, anxiety, poor guidance from public health entities, big food, big pharma, etc and there is certainly enough blame to go around but I am choosing to focus on the positive. The positive news is that we are having the conversations needed to help people live healthier, longer and happier. At Secure Telehealth and Mountain Health Care Services we want to empower those who want to help shape the future of Health Care. Dr. Attia calls is Medicine 3.0. I’ll be posting my review of his book within the next couple of days and my review of “Blue Zones” when i finish the series in a week or two. Look for those and stay up with my posts on Linkedin as I highlight some of these great people focused on helping us get healthier.

Let us know what you need to connect with the people that you want to reach. We want to help make it happen. An exciting shift is happening in Health Care and we’re here for it.

-Dan

Telehealth with FaceTime? Bad Idea

By Dan Mountain | February 20, 2019

Telehealth usage is growing as many providers and patients are finding that they can accomplish everything that they need to through a video conference rather than in person. The temptation is there to just have a FaceTime conversation on their phones, but that is not HIPAA compliant and doing that could jeopardize your practice. We offer a solution that is as easy to use as FaceTime, but it is HIPAA compliant. Our solution is a closed system, encrypted, and we will sign a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement with you because we provide ongoing technical support and customer service to the providers and the patients. Please reach out for more information.

Thank you telehealth.org

Telehealth for Community Mental Health Organizations

By Dan Mountain | February 5, 2019

This is our Sweet Spot! Current clients of ours, such as New Oakland Family Centers in Michigan, have been using our Telehealth software and our services to reach more people and cut costs. When an organization like New Oakland has many locations where they see people in need, it does not make sense to pay for a provider at each location or pay for a provider to drive around from place to place.

This is where we come in. Our software can be installed on the computers that you already have in your office and the providers can see more patients and help more people in less time. We work hard to make your telehealth program a success. We assist each user with set up and training and we make it easy for the presenting nurses to use the software and get that patient in front of the providers.

I’m here in Kalamazoo, MI for the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan’s Winter Conference. We already work with many organizations in Michigan and around the nation. We would love to get to know you and see how we can help an organization like yours. If you’re hesitant about the costs it is good to know that in Michigan and in many other states, Medicaid pays an extra technology fee per session to offset the costs of implementing telehealth services. Contact us to learn more!

More than just software, we make sure your Telehealth Program will be a SUCCESS!

By Dan Mountain | December 27, 2018

I get very excited when someone calls me with a new business idea to use Telehealth software. Many times they become clients of ours and sometimes they don’t, but no matter what, we always have a great conversation and we learn from each other.

Last August, I got a phone call from Sarah Daugherty, a PA at Lexington Women’s Health. She was interested in using Secure Telehealth video software to see patients that they had treated in their offices who were interested in weight loss. Many of these women had just had children and were looking for expert guidance in balancing weight loss with optimal health for themselves and their babies. We were so excited to partner with them and after a few months of trials and experimentation, they went live in December and hope to catch the wave of new clients inspired by the new year to get healthier once and for all.

Our role in establishing your Telehealth practice is pretty simple. We make sure it works! For Sarah that meant training her and her staff at Lexington Women’s Health to use the software on both the computer and their smartphones because many of their clients will check in with her from the convenience of their own phone. Other clinics and providers have us work with them in many locations so that they do not have to waste time and money traveling. And still others have us test each new client before their first Telepsychiatry appointment to be sure the technology will work even from the patient’s own home or office. We are able to do this because we sign a HIPAA business associate agreement with each of our clients. It is our extra attention and personal relationship that we have with each of our customers that sets us apart. Let us know how we can help you get your Telehealth program started or if we can help it grow. Or Learn more at www.securetelehealth.com

Flyer advertising Telehealth Opportunities at Lexington Women’s

Rural Health Update from the Virginia Rural health Association

By Dan Mountain | November 16, 2018

I had a great day this past Wednesday at the Virginia Rural Health Collaborators Conference in Lexington, VA. Lexington is a beautiful Historic town that is the location of Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute. Just outside of town is the Virginia Horse Center, an amazing facility that includes the Andersen Coliseum where we met for the day.

The day began with State Senator R. Creigh Deeds from that area of Virginia giving a keynote presentation. Senator Deeds is committed to the rural areas of Virginia and helping them grow and thrive. He mentioned Telehealth as a way to do that. “Telemedicine is something that holds great promise” He says as a way to deal with issues such as provider shortages and barriers to access to quality care.

The next speaker was Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association. Sure he mentioned problems facing rural America such as Opioid Addiction and hospital closures, but he is also optimistic. One of his reasons for optimism is the rise of telehealth. “We need to advocate for Telehealth Policies that make sense,” he says, “and that includes broadband access”.

There were breakout sessions and I spent some time talking to people from VCU, Radford and other Universities, People from Behavioral Health organziations, Rural Development organizations and more. Overall it was time well spent. I was happy to learn more and also share what knowledge I have about what telehealth can do to provide better care to the people

who need it. I even had some good conversations with Clint Carney, from Telmedx, who provides a different kind of telehealth service. Let me know of you have any questions or any insight about reaching the people who need care in these rural areas. I’d love to have a conversation with you.

Thank you VRHA!

The NEW Role of Telehealth in Treating Substance Abuse Disorder

By Dan Mountain | November 1, 2018

Our nation is in Crisis. The Opioid Crisis in America is having devastating effects nationwide. I was recently in West Virginia at the Rural Health Conference and it seems that there is no solution for this problem that is destroying communities and ruining lives. While areas in and near West Virginia have been hit hard, the crisis is not exclusive to the rural Appalchian region. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse from back in March, there are 115 overdose deaths each day nationally.

There is help. Suboxone is medicine designed to treat Opioid Addiction. People with Substance Abuse Disorder can use suboxone and have a dramatic increase in quality of life. For a while now, getting access to Suboxone has been a challenge for a number of reasons. There is a stigma associated with Substance Abuse Disorder that is keeping people from admitting to themselves or their families that they need help. It is also difficult for many people to get to a Doctor because of problems associated with their disorder such as loss of a driver’s liscense and other illnesses.

Here;s the good news! Last week, The President of the United States signed the Support for Patients and Communities Act. According to Mobi Health News, “The latest legislation expands opioid-specific telemedicine services… Further down in the bill, the telemedicine portion spelled out that states will be able to seek federal reimbursement under Medicaid for telemedicine services of substance abuse disorders including medication-assisted treatment, counseling, medication management and medication adherence.”

This is an exciting time, barriers to access are being removed and people’s lives can be changed and lives can be saved. At Secure Telehealth we want to help as many people as possible get access to the life changing care that is available to them through Medication Assisted Treatment of their Substance Abuse Disorder. Please give us a call or contact us below with any questions that you may have.

Telehealth News and Notes

By Dan Mountain | October 29, 2018

Hello and Welcome to the Secure Telehealth News and Notes Newsletter. Check here for the latest in the Telehealth industry, policy updates and innovative ways people are using Telehealth to improve access to quality health care.

Geoffrey Boyce from Insight Telepsychiatry writes on the HealthCare Finance Association webpage about the provider shortage facing the Health care industry. He mentions statistics about the lack of access in certain areas around the country. If you are looking to use your provider for effectively and save money or get Telepsychiatry contracts with other organizations, we can help you get started.

Remote Monitoring is a big part of Telemedicine. Click here for more information about a new Non-invasive continuous Blood Pressure Measurement system for remote monitoring.

Symbol Health Solutions based in Alabama is using Telehealth software to provide health coaching which is a low cost way to help people and save on health care costs.

Remote Monitoring and Health coaching are just two ways that providers hope can keep costs down, keep people healthy and keep them out of Emergency Rooms.

We would love to hear about what you’re doing with Telehealth. Let us know if we can help!

What’s holding you back? Overcoming Obstacles in your Telehealth Practice

By Dan Mountain | October 24, 2018

I read this interesting article today from Forbes. The writers, Gary Price M.D. and Tim Norbeck outline the promises of how telemedicine services will help in the future but also explain some of the reasons people are abandoning it now or not even starting yet. The promises have been documented on this site and others extensively, but these are a few of the reasons why people aren’t ready to commit quite yet.

Providers are finding it very hard to get paid. This is tough for sure. Every state has different laws regarding whether or not Medicaid will pay for the session and how much. It seems that some insurance companies will pay for some services and some won’t without any real explanation. With our research and experiences providing software in all 50 states, we can help you navigate through the confusion. For many of our customers, we provide more than just software, but we act as a “consultant” to help them be sure that they have a successful Telehealth practice. Even of you’re not a client, please contact us below or give us a call. We often find that we learn from each other when discussing the latest in the Medical Technology industry.
Providers and Health organizations are concerned about Privacy. We take this very seriously, Secure Telehealth software does not store any health information. Providers and Health organizations continue to use their own EHR and scheduling software. This makes a telehealth session get treated exactly the same as an in person session which already has security protocols in place. We understand HIPAA and will sign a Business Associate Agreement with the clients which allows us to provide the software and offer technical support.
Another obstacle, not specifically mentioned in the article, is that people are afraid of the technology. They could think that it would be too complicated or they give up because there are too many technical problems. At Secure Telehealth, we take care of the technology so you can focus on helping people. At no additional cost, We will assist in setting up each location and train all of the providers and presenting nurses. Even when providers or patients are in their own homes we can test their system so that everyone can be confident that the meetings will be go smoothly. Lastly, even if we haven taken all precautions, sometimes something still goes wrong, A computer is muted, or there was a software update, or an operating system changes or one of any number of other technical problems occur and we will answer the phone and help you right away so that a session is not missed.

The Health care Revolution is coming, I hope nothing is holding you back.

Telehealth in Rural Health Care

By Dan Mountain | October 22, 2018

This is the sweet spot. Connecting Patients in Rural areas who need Behavioral Health services, or any services for that matter, with the providers that they need. While every state seems to have different rules and regulations regarding how Medicaid will pay for these sessions, but one thing is almost universal throughout the country and that is that Medicaid, Medicare and even many private insurance companies are paying for these sessions via video. They payers and the rural health clinics are realizing that the patients need care and that they can save money and get better care through utilizing HIPAA – compliant video technology like Secure Telehealth.

I am here at the West Virginia Rural Health Association Conference at the Pipestem Resort State Park in beautiful West Virginia. We already work with a few of the organizations in West Virginia and would love to meet more and show more how they can implement Video Technology into their practice to provide better care and save money and time. Stop by and see the Secure Telehealth table if you are here and even if you are not, spend some time reviewing customer testimonials on our web site and give us a call. We can help you navigate the rules and regulations in your state and take care of setting up your practice to use Telehealth Technology using only the equipment that you already have.

We’ve learned a ton already and its not even over. Many people are saving money and time by implementing e-visits and video visits. We’ve learned about the history of the Appalachian region and what events in the past have contributed to the relatively poor health of people in the area, and what the solutions may be. In a time when there is a shortage of providers and more need, telehealth services can be the answer. Wouldn’t you like your providers to spend more time with patients and less time in the car? Did you know that Medicaid will reimburse these visits if the patient is in the Health Center even if the provider is someone else? There is so much more than can be done to help the people in these rural areas that need it most and we can continue to do better.

The Waiting Room 2.0

By Dan Mountain | October 4, 2018

Nope, not this kind of waiting room, a private, secure, “waiting room” for providers to see when a patient is ready to be seen via telehealth software and let them in. Much less awkward…

I wanted to share this video to let people know that using telehealth software can be so much more than just talking through a screen. The “waiting room” feature allows providers to see when a patient has joined the meeting and admit them or let them in when they are ready. This brief video demo shows just how easy it is to use the “waiting room”.

Please give us a call or contact us below for more information about adding this feature to your practice.